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Written on May 5th, 2025.
SYNOPSIS: After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap, seven disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.
Thunderbolts* is unlike any MCU film that has come before, utilising its heightened reality as a visual expression of something deeper. It dares to forgo a large-scale final battle for a third act that’s instead contained and focused on feelings rather than fight. I appreciate the metaphors of succumbing to depression (the villain), exploitation of the vulnerable, internal battles and shared struggles. Schreier explained that "the greatest shame of all was thinking that you could be something bigger than yourself, that [Bob's] aspirations towards heroism are actually what brings everything down and that you need to learn to be ok with who you are without that", where yearning to move past trauma can be self-destructive if done unhealthily.
That said, to get into specific scenes, I did find the opening stunt fall really underwhelming. Unlike how the Mission Impossible films always focus on Cruise’s face, Florence Pugh’s fall was reduced to extreme wide shots (which could have easily and quickly been done with visual effects, much less a stunt double). It could have been so visceral yet seems to have turned out mundane. Going for practical is one thing, but utilising practical is another. Florence Pugh jumped off a building for real but they didn’t show her face, so strange.
Next, the escape room scenario is a brilliant premise that sounded like it would have been thrilling and fun, so I’m wondering if using a mysterious dramatic orchestral score instead might have worked better. This death trap situation sounds like a game, but the execution seemed a tad bland.
On the topic of wasted potential, giving Olga Kurylenko a single close-up is a crime. Seriously, why did they even cast her in the MCU? Her character, Taskmaster, is a really unique villain capable of mimicking others’ moves, and after she was already underutilised in Black Widow (which was otherwise an excellent film), here she exists merely to be killed (and they composited her into the Watchtower shot for the teaser trailer lol).
As was done with The Marvels and Brave New World, some characters feel stripped of their character arcs. Ghost kind of felt too cruel at the start, and Walker definitely still seemed like a jerk full of toxic masculinity. At least they didn’t hurt Bucky, that was years of character building. Just that his congressman venture did nothing, although I guess it fits him into the plot.
Additionally, some unnatural dialogue, occasional instances of weak writing (Yelena saying she’s quitting only to do one more job, Bob deciding to kill the world could have used more motivation), weak pacing (lack of substance in the gala scenes, could have played more with crosscuts if they really wanted to keep those scenes), and the amazing Geraldine Viswanathan sadly didn’t have an arc. Valentina being a CIA Director is weird!
Those are specifics, but the film’s overall approach and spotlight on mental health certainly shine. Not to mention it’s the cherry on top that the closing shot of peace and relief perfectly mirrors the opening shot of suicidal nihilism.
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